About City of Ghosts

Published: July 11, 2017Last Updated: March 18, 2026

Directed, produced, and filmed by Academy Award–nominated and Emmy-winning filmmaker Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land, 2015 Sundance Film Festival Directing Award), City of Ghosts is a singularly powerful cinematic experience that is sure to shake audiences to their core as it elevates the canon of one of the most talented documentary filmmakers working today.

Captivating in its immediacy, City of Ghosts follows the journey of "Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently" – a handful of anonymous activists who banded together after their homeland was taken over by ISIS in 2014.

With astonishing, deeply personal access, this is the story of a brave group of citizen journalists as they face the realities of life undercover, on the run, and in exile, risking their lives to stand up against one of the greatest evils in the world today.

AWARDS

Winner - 2018 Directors Guild Awards - Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary

Winner - Candescent Award at Sundance Film Festival 2017

Winner - CPH:DOX 2017 – Politiken's Audience Award

Winner - Dallas Int'l Film Festival 2017 – Silver Heart Award

Winner - Greenwich International Film Festival – Best Social Impact Film

Winner - Montclair Film Festival 2017 – Special Jury Prize for Documentary Feature Direction

Winner - Sheffield Doc Fest 2017 – GRAND JURY AWARD

Nominated - CPH:DOX Award

Nominated - Montclair Film Festival 2017 – Bruce Sinofsky Prize for Documentary Feature

Nominated - Seattle Int'l Film Festival 2017 – Golden Space Needle Award for Best Documentary

Nominated - Sundance Film Festival 2017 – Grand Jury Prize for US Documentary

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Citation Information

Article Title
About City of Ghosts
Website Name
A&E
Date Accessed
March 18, 2026
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
March 18, 2026
Original Published Date
July 11, 2017
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